


disobedience

by awkwardspaceturtle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Distrust, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22974241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardspaceturtle/pseuds/awkwardspaceturtle
Summary: (Into The Badlands AU)Set in a time in which the world has fallen into ruin, territories are divided and people are segregated into the subhuman enslaved class called the Cogs, and the higher stronger warriors that defend them called Clippers. Reigning over them after the power vacuum left by the end of the Old World are the Barons, whose authority is absolute, and disloyalty equates death.Shiro, a Regent who commands the army of Clippers under the ruthless Baron Zarkon, defies a direct order by sparing the life of a lordless nomad boy. He is allowed to keep the boy and train him as his Colt, but feral dogs prove to be difficult to domesticate.As Shiro's motivations for keeping the boy are revealed, their bond also deepens as they learn to trust one another. However, there are no happy stories in the Badlands...
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	disobedience

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO I'VE HAD THIS AU IN MY HEAD EVER SINCE I STARTED WATCHING THE SHOW. YEARS LATER IM SUDDENLY FRENZY-TYPING ON MY PHONE W/O EDITING ANYTHING BC IT'S 11PM ON A SUNDAY AND NOW IT'S 1AM ON A MONDAY AND. I HAVE WORK IN A FEW HOURS SGDHSJKSL. ALSO I'M NEVER GOOD WITH SUMMARIES AND THAT IS THE LONGEST I'VE DONE WITHOUT THINKING TOO DEEPLY ABOUT IT I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE??? 
> 
> so anyways i hope i get this story together somehow and just. get this idea off my chest and let 2016 me rest
> 
> pls forgive my spelling/grammar errors as this first chapter is completely unedited

"All rise for his Eminence, Baron Zarkon" Squad Captain Thace announces to the panel of his fellow captains as the large oak doors burst open. A very audible silence permeates the room as the Baron and his advisers parade inside. Only when the Baron has seated do the others take their seat as well. 

The only one left standing is the man in the center of the room: back straight, shoulders broad and confident, eyes that have seen too many horrors to begin fearing a conclave. The single thing that betrays any agitation he feels is the one bead of sweat on his brow.

Seated behind the panel right in front of him, Baron Zarkon flases an amused grin. 

"The tribunal is hereby commenced," Thace declares, and a new kind of tension fills the room. He's about to announce the identity of the man before them, but the Baron silences him with a raised hand.

"This man needs no further introduction," the Baron says with a dark smile. No one opposes him, especially not when he is in a good mood. 

"I never thought I'd ever see you on the other side of this panel, _Regent_."

"Forgive me if it displeases you, Baron," Shiro begins. He will need to play into Zarkon's good favors to pull this one through. 

"I will decide what and if to forgive after I've heard your piece."

Shiro almost lets out a sigh of relief. The Baron is still willing to hear him out instead of quickly doling out punishment. Good. 

"And who is to be seated as plaintiff?"

"That will be me, Baron," Squad Captain Sendak declares. Shiro doesn't let his gaze meet his, but the tensed clenching of his jaw gives his irritation away. 

At the captain's words, Zarkon's eyes seem to light up. It was no secret among his troops that Sendak bore a deep dislike of what he deems as an inferior species ranking highest of all the clippers in their territory. He has always been looking for ways to oust Shiro of his regency. 

"Speak, then."

"The Regent," Sendak begins, acid pouring all over the second word, "has commited disobedience of a direct order from the Baron--"

"Ridiculous," Shiro retorted calmy through gritted teeth. 

"--witnessed not only by me and my subordinates, but also by clippers under his direct command, and the nomadic people we were dispatched to collect as cogs. The nomads who retaliated were dealt a swift and final sentence, all except one."

In calculated timing, a smaller door to a far corner of the room opens. The dense tension in the room is suddenly cut by the angry muffled screaming of a boy, hands and feet bound and mouth gagged, as his cage is wheeled into the room to be displayed a few paces behind Shiro. His once clean robes are tattered and bloodied, a bruise bloomed on his cheek, but he looks far from being conquered and defeated. 

"The Regent, for some reason well beyond any of us, has chosen to spare it," Sendak continues, a sense of egotistical victory painting his voice. "He stayed the hand of my men from clipping this -- a deviant, futureless atrocity that poses a threat to the safety of our people."

The boy, upon hearing the insults about him yet powerless to retaliate, pounds his body in feeble rebellion on the cage bars. Shiro wants nothing more than to run to him and calm him down, to not let Sendak's shallow words further validate what all the others already thought about him. 

Instead, he stands his ground, and throws Sendak the darkest look he can muster. "Strange how you view a nomadic child as a threat, Captain. Does that speak for the caliber of your sword, or the strength of your spirit?"

A few of the seated captains noticeably react in hushed tones of amusement. Even the Baron let the corners of his mouth curl upwards. 

"You are in no position to question the panel, Regent," Sendak seethes, a vein popping on his forehead. "Your position does not absolve you of any crime or offense made to the Baron. Disobedience is itself an act of insubordination. Insubordination is disloyalty to the Baron himself."

The panel falls silent. Even the boy has stopped in his futile clamoring for release.

Sendak continues, the lack of opposition or interjection emboldening him. "I hereby propose the elimination of the nomad reject, a vote to strip you of your title, and a restructuring of present authority."

Behind his seat in the panel, Thace feels a shiver creep up his spine. His worry, however, is not a result of the strained atmosphere of the room -- it's from the dangerous look of pure fury that Shiro is directing at the vindictive Captain. 

"Captain," Zarkon finally speaks, and the room instantly trembles. His steely gaze is pointed towards Sendak. "I don't remember ever letting you speak on my behalf."

A stunned silence. The rest of the panel cruelly refrains from interjecting, leaving their fellow clipper and captain in a surprisingly heated position. No one dares oppose the first and foremost rule of their tribe -- complete loyalty and obedience to the Baron, and the Baron alone. 

The light of premature victory has disappeared from Sendak's eyes, shame deflating his shoulders. "I-I apologize for speaking out of turn, Baron. I only have your best interests in mind--"

"And you've stated your piece," Zarkon interjects, almost rather boredly. "How do you defend yourself, Regent?"

"Thank you for granting me the chance to speak, Baron," Shiro says. He would deal with an even more resentful Sendak later; this right here might be the most important fight he needs to win.

"The boy did act out on his refusal to cooperate, as Squad Captain Sendak has recalled," he continues, careful to keep his voice level. "However I have reason to believe that he is of greater value to us alive than dead. Although quick, I was able to swing swords with him, Baron. He is a warrior."

"An untamed animal is simply a predator that kills on instinct, Regent," Zarkon replies as he eyes the boy glaring at him through the bars of the cage.

"And I was that same untamed animal until my value as a clipper was seen, Baron."

Zarkon suddeny breaks into a smile. It didn't have its usual deadly subtlety -- it was blatantly cold and unapologetically contriving.

"Then you may only keep him if you adhere to our established practices. You will subjugate him by breaking him completely, until he will beg for the oportunity to serve me."

Shiro visibly clenches his jaw. But only for a quarter of a second. "It shall be as you say, Baron."

"Your first colt shall not disappoint me, Regent," Zarkon says, already standing up to leave. Beside him, his advisers stand and follow suit, and consequently the captains, a string of all the powerful people of their territory filing out the big oak doors.

On his way out, Sendak shoots Shiro another dark look. He spits on the floor of the boy's cage, muttering the word ' _filth_ ' as he exits. 

Shiro remains where he is, not turning to acknowledge the members of the panel. Sendak was not alone in his resentment of the Regent. Only Thace offers a nod of approval to Shiro on his way out. 

"Release him," Shiro says to the cogs on either side of the boy's cage once the room is finally empty of the captains. 

"Apologies, Regent, but it bit two fingers off the clipper that put him in here--"

"Release _him_ ," Shiro repeats, his voice as stern and hard as a rock.

"As you wish, Regent."

"You may leave us," Shiro says after they've done their part, and they scurry out without being told a second time. 

Silence. The space between Shiro and the boy is too thick with it that it almost feels like another being in the room. Shiro takes a careful tentative step towards him, he takes one big jerk backward. Naturally, as any captive would when facing his captor. 

"I know you won't believe me, but please let me tell you this," Shiro says gently, so not even his words can cause any more pain. "I won't hurt you."

The boy still won't reciprocate his gaze. He won't acknowledge his existence, not even spare him a glance. Make him invisible, give him something lesser than basic human decency by cutting him off. The boy is putting up walls, and for good reason. Shiro can't really blame him.

"Okay. I'm going back to my quarters. You're free to go wherever you like."

At this, the young man seems to react. His eyes almost wander to Shiro's face. 

"You can take your chances and maybe run into one of those tools that sat behind that panel," Shiro says with a thumb gesturing to his back. "As for me I can't wait to have dinner and sleep this entire farce away."

Without another word, Shiro walks around him and out the hallway, out into the lavish lobby of the Baron's mansion and into the cobbled street. He doesn't look back to see if the boy was trailing after him. 

He walks a few blocks away before detouring into a forest. The canopy of leaves overhead make it seem darker than it's supposed to be out, but Shiro isn't one to always rely on the light to be able to see. He takes a shortcut made familiar to him by the scent of the flowering bushes, and emerges into a simple single-storey house with a wooden fence. This tiny humble abode tucked away in the woods is one of the few remaining beautiful things spared by the Old World, and as Regent, he gets to live in it. 

He unlocks his door and shucks off his boots to feel the smooth hardwood below his feet. Before the door can completely close shut, an arm pushes it back open, and a pair of dirty bare feet walk past him, already trailing dusty prints around his living room and into his pantry. 

Despite himself, Shiro smiles. He has always been alone in this house by choice. It's going to be a lot different now, but he doesn't think he'd mind. 

"There are dried mangoes in a jar on the top left of the highest shelf, " he calls out, and subsequently hears a mad search being made in the small room. 

He shrugs, and looks for an extra pair of slippers before he grabs a mop and broom.

**Author's Note:**

> AND. THERE YOU GO!!! YEARS AGO I NEVER PLANNED ON STARTING THIS ON A TRIAL KIND OF INTRO BUT IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AS I LAY DOWN MY HEAD ON MY PILLOW TO SLEEP. AND THAT'S HOW I'M SCREAMING SILENTLY AT 1AM AT MY PHONE KEYS.
> 
> ALSO! FRENZY-WRITING W/O OVERTHINKING IS GREAT! I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW LITTLE I DWELLED ON THE DETAILS LMAO
> 
> ANYWAYS THANK YOU FOR READING! ☆


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